GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Men's wrestling finished up its last tournament of the regular season schedule over the weekend at the Arizona Christian Firestorm Open.  The event was the last event for the Blue and Gold before the qualification process for the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Tournament begins and VU had some good showings in Arizona, with one champion, three podium placers, and two wrestlers who finished fourth.
 
What Happened?  Hector Hernandez faced Adrian Limon to start his run in the 125-pound bracket but Limon was able to snek inside his guard for a quick pin in the first period.  Undeterred, Hernandez rebounded smartly against Bekzat Nurmakhanov of Colorado State, as Hernandez completed a pin in just 55 seconds.  He then faced Cruz Kaye of OUAZ and Hernandez had a takedown in eight seconds and tied Kaye to the mat before the end of the first period to make it back-to-back pins.  That got Hernandez into the contest for third and he again struck first to make an early takedown of Eathon Rider in the first frame.  However, Rider then scored 13 unanswered points and turned that into a pin to win bronze.
 
Robert Villegas was in the 133-pound tournament and had a close encounter with Abraham Pablo in his first match.  Pable had the first takedown but an escape by Villegas brought him back into striking range, as he trailed 4-2 after one period.  The Lion made an escape and a reversal in the middle period to jump ahead 5-4 but Pablo got a reversal in the third that resulted in the score being knotted at 6-6 at the end of the third period.  That put the two into overtime but Villegas found the right move to make a takedown to send him forward in the bracket.  Villegas then faced Jummy Tsosie of OUAZ and the Lion made two scoring moves before wrapping up Tsosie for a pin in the first frame.  In the fight for the top spot on the podium, Villegas had to face Jaren Kimura of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) and the Lion started well by making the first takedown to lead 3-1 after the first.  Kimura got a reversal in the second to tie proceedings, but the third favored the Eagle, as he won the final frame 9-4 to earn a 12-7 decision victory.  Villegas was in second, but because Pablo had not lost on his way to taking third, there was a chance he would have had to face Pablo again, as the two were on level pegging.  However, Pablo pulled out of the match, which allowed Villegas to stay as the true runner up.
 
 
Rafa Marquez was entered in the 157-pound bracket and took on Sean Matthew Garcia of Grand Canyon in his first bout.  Marquez and Matthew Garcia ended the third frame tied at 3-3, forcing overtime.  But when it mattered most, Marquez found a slim opening and lunged in for the takedown, completing the move to win 5-2.  His next opponent was Noah Valenzuela and Marquez was clinical from start to finish, giving Valenzuela nothing over two periods and making a pin in the third to advance.  That put him in the championship bout and he faced ERAU's Sam Humphrey.  Marquez was taken down to start the match but he got the next two points to trail 3-2 after one.  Marquez then gathered six points off a reversal and a nearfall move to surge ahead 8-3, with another takedown by Marquez in the third securing him an 11-4 victory to take the gold.
 
Mason Hernandez was in the 165-pound bracket against ERAU's Wyatt Rewerts and though Hernandez did his best, Rewerts was able to win 11-1.  Moving into the consolation side of the bracket, Hernandez faced Shane Bertero of ERAU but this time, the Lion would prevail.  Each wrestler had a takedown in the first period and Hernandez scooped up another in the second to lead 6-4.  Though each wrestler got an escape in the third, it was the takedown by Hernandez in that period that proved the difference as he won 10-8.  It was an easier time against Christian Farfan of OUAZ, as Hernandez blanked him 15-0.  Hernandez then produced a similar result against Kevin Corseault of ACU, though Courseault had the better first period.  The Firestorm wrestler was ahead 5-3 before Hernandez racked up four takedowns over the next two periods to win 15-9.  That put him in the matchup for third place and though Hernandez wrestled hard, Sergio Porras made a quick takedown and then a pin in the first period to win, with Hernandez taking fourth.
 
Keagen Kroeger faced Will Crouse to open his run in the 184-pound tournament and Kroeger got the first takedown.  But Crouse scored the next four to lead 4-3 after one.  Kroeger made two more escapes but could not find another takedown, as Crouse went on to win 8-5.  Yet Kroeger made another run at a podium for VU by beating GCU's John Duggan 15-0 and Zachariah Fowler of ACU 19-0 to make the bout for bronze.  There Kroeger faced Anthony Kearney of GCU and Kearney made the first takedown.  Kroeger then made an escape to end the first period and got another to open the second to trail 6-2 entering the final period.  Kroeger launched himself at Kearney and tallied five points in quick succession to vault into an 8-6 lead, but Kearney made a reversal to tie things at 8-8 and got a bonus point for riding time to win 9-8.
 
LeRoy Garibay was in the heavyweight bracket and faced Elijah Alvarado in his first match and powered his way to a 14-0 win.  Samuel Moore was more of a challenge, as though Garibay had a takedown in the first, Moore got one in the second to trail 5-4 entering the second.  Moore then collected the bonus point for riding time to tie the contest at 5-5, but Garibay had the better action in overtime, as he found an opening and made a takedown to advance with an 8-5 victory.  Fighting for first against Nick Hutchins, Garibay tried his best but could not find a point, as Hutchins made a takedown and transitioned that into a pin to win.
 
What was Said?  "The guys wrestled really well and I am happy when we have six wrestlers enter a tournament and all of them place and we get a champion in Rafa," said Head Coach Caleb Flores.
 
 
What's Next?  The Lions will try to qualify for the NCWA Nationals at a western regional on March 1.